Monitoring tropical selective logging and its impact using radar satellite and field data

A large proportion of tropical forests has been designated for permanent timber production. Monitoring is of paramount importance to support and enforce sustainable forest management and prevent (illegal) overexploitation of forest resources. Satellite-based remote sensing has been established as a cost-effective tool to track tree cover loss across landscapes with great accuracy. However, fine-scale natural and logging-related forest disturbances remain difficult to trace, both from the ground as well as remotely. This thesis focuses on monitoring selective logging and its impacts by linking Sentinel-1 C-band radar satellite and field data. It demonstrates improved detection of fine-scale canopy gaps related to logging and natural disturbance dynamics based on Sentinel-1 C-band radar using a physical-based approach. This data was then used to achieve remote estimation of harvested timber volumes and to assess disturbance patterns in Annual Cutting Blocks across the Congo Basin in relation to ecologically sensitive landscape elements such as steep slopes, riparian buffers, and peatlands.